ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
GOD IS COMPLETELY FREE The freedom of God, is also called divine freedom. God is not constrained by anyone other than himself. He does what he pleases and therefore he is always free. He is not bound to the dictates of anyone else. He does make promises which obligate him to do certain things, but he makes those promises voluntarily.
Psalm 135:6 The Lord does whatever He pleases in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the depths.
Praise God for His Divine Freedom
Praise God that he cannot be manipulated. Praise God that he always acts according to his good, just, wise, and loving nature. Praise God for the specific ways that he has freely acted in your life.
CONFESSION: Confess your sins to God and receive his continued mercy.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
THANKSGIVING: Giving thanks to God for his specific blessings in our lives.
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100
SUPPLICATION: Bringing our requests to God.
- Bring your personal prayer requests to God.
- Pray for the people of Afghanistan. Ask God to reveal Himself to Afghan refugees dispersed throughout the world.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Matthew 1 – New International Version
Matthew 1 – New International Version
The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4 Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6 and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9 Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12 After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,
Abihud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
14 Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Elihud,
15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory. 1 Timothy 3:16
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. Deut. 29:29
We must hold mystery and history in tension to live a life of faith expressed in faithfulness. Everyone, no matter what world view they profess, lives with mystery. This is true for the elementary school child with a very small understanding of theology, and it is true of the seminary theologian with an advanced understanding. It is true for the Christian believer and it is true for the atheist “believer.” With humility we must acknowledge that there will always be mystery in regards to our understanding of God and the cosmos he has made. This should not surprise or dismay us. Of course there is much more to be known than can be known by us. The fact that we will always live with mystery does not in any way diminish the revelation of God in human history. God has entered our space and time and has told us what we need to know in order to have relationship with him and to know how we can live thriving lives. What God has done in history and revealed in Scripture is true knowledge that we can accurately understand and apply to our lives. This history/mystery tension is important. We cannot let our lack of full understanding keep us from fully obeying what God has clearly made known. On the other hand, we cannot let God’s revealed knowledge make us think we can know more than we can know. We must live with both resolve to obey what God has made known, and humility to trust God with the secret things.